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Bellingen based manufacturer wins prestigious US Government sponsored energy efficient lighting award.
A family-owned manufacturer on the New South Wales mid north coast is celebrating after winning a prestigious
American environmental lighting award sponsored by the US government.
Planet Lighting’s HLS energy-efficient design was picked out from among 126 international entries in the Next
Generation Luminaires (NGL) competition.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) sponsors the award through its Building Technologies Program, based at the
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The program aims to deliver “breakthrough science and technology to meet key national needs”, a high priority for
President Obama’s economic and environmental agendas.
Following the award, Planet Lighting is now included in the DOE’s official guide to recommended low-energy lighting
suppliers.
The DOE distributes the guide to thousands of lighting designers, architects and other government departments
across the United States.
Based in the small town of Bellingen, New South Wales, Planet Lighting is a third-generation family business that has
been in the lighting game for more than 70 years.
With just 50 full-time employees, the factory designs, builds and exports specialised lighting solutions to the Asia
Pacific, Europe, US and Middle East.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog,” said managing director Brett Iggulden.
“This award shows that even small companies like ours can compete with the world when they focus on innovation
and quality.”
The successful design incorporates a uniquely designed high efficiency LED handrail illumination system that can be
fitted to both new and existing rails.
The HLS mini-puck handrails are used to light public footpaths and staircases for around 25 to 30 percent of the
energy cost of a traditional light source, with significantly less light pollution.
Made of anodised, recyclable aluminium and manufactured with a tiny energy footprint, the fixture has useful life of
50,000 hours, a vast improvement over traditional designs.
The design underwent a rigorous three-week installation and testing regime under the expert gaze of 12 respected US
scientists and engineers before winning recognition in the NGL competition’s outdoor speciality lighting category.
The first US project to take up the Planet’s award winning HLS system is a new Major League Baseball stadium under
construction in Florida.
More than 23,000 mini-pucks have already been installed in 12 kilometres of handrail on stage one of Dubai’s
futuristic new subway system, with stage two on the way.
The design has also been incorporated into the new Dublin Airport, as well as at more than twenty projects in
Australia.
Energy-efficient LED lighting is revolutionising the design of buildings and public spaces across the world as business
and government focus on reducing their energy consumption.
Planet Lighting is one of the leading Australian organisations conducting research and development into LED design
to take advantage of the fast- growing demand for energy-efficient lighting solutions.
Bellingen NSW 2454 15 Feb 2010 Contact : Brett Iggulden 0266551077 or 0428268862
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